Ike Haxton Claims First High Stakes Short Deck Title On U.S. Soil

Short Deck remains the talk of the poker world and the first live-streamed tournament in the United States aired Tuesday on PokerGO. The $10,000 Poker Masters edition brought in a promising field of 55 entrants to compete in the format that is sweeping the globe. Ike Haxton took down the inaugural event on Tuesday, defeating Maurice Hawkins heads up for the $176,000 top prize.

With one major event now in the books, Short Deck looks to continue its expansion across America.

Short Deck popularity

Players in the Poker Masters event spoke glowingly of Short Deck’s promise as a tournament game.

“I love it because there is no hand that’s a big favorite against another,” Andrew Robl told Poker Central. “This also makes it great for tournaments because there’s a lot of gambling in the game. Because many of the players in Asia have already played No-Limit Hold’em in the past, I don’t think that they’ll come back to the game. I think that because of this there will only be more Short Deck tournaments in the future.”

High rollers like Justin Bonomo, Rainer Kempe, and Dominik Nitsche tried out Short Deck for the first time at Poker Masters. Nitsche reached the final table with the chip lead and said he plans to play more Short Deck events at the Triton Super High Roller Series in the upcoming future.

“If [Short Deck] keeps continuing like this in the future and there are more and more events, I’m probably going have to learn a bit more,” Nitsche told Poker Central prior to Tuesday’s final table. “Can’t just rely on my instincts the entire time. If I want to play, I’m certainly going to be putting in the hours but it is too early to say.”

Jason Koon added, “At high stakes especially, we’re all gamers and trying new things and getting in there to figure it out keeps things fresh.”

More events on the way

More Short Deck champs will soon follow at the ARIA in Las Vegas, NV. Short Deck plays at ARIA on Oct. 5 and Nov. 2 as a $10,000 buy-in. The first $25,000 Short Deck tournament at ARIA will take place on Nov. 4.

Additional tournaments are sure to crop up as players demand the game at all stakes.

Short Deck is even taking over in Pot Limit Omaha. ARIA hosted a $300 ante game last week featuring high roller regular Ben Lamb.

Now being spread @ARIAPoker 300 ante short deck Plo. Seats open for all the brave ones.

— Ben Lamb (@BenbaLamb) September 6, 2018

“I’m excited because the players are excited about it,” ARIA tournament director Paul Campbell told Poker Central prior to the Poker Masters Short Deck event. “There’s been a lot of talk at ARIA about Short Deck. They’ve been playing it in the cash games recently and the players who have played it have enjoyed it.”

Short Deck grows at the lower limits, too. Bestbet Jacksonville brought in 82 entrants for their $240 Short Deck tournament on August 22. Players at ARIA demanded a $1 ante Short Deck game in recent weeks and management obliged. Time is the only barrier separating Short Deck from hitting the Wynn or Venetian tournaments.

By all accounts, the Poker Masters Short Deck event was well received and players at all levels are curious to learn more about the popular game. Short Deck will officially arrive once the World Series of Poker announces a bracelet event. Until then, the cult following grows.

Image courtesy of WPT/Flickr

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